Late last night, the 19-year-old driver of a 2010 Scion was speeding south on Harbor Boulevard in Santa Ana. Near Warner Avenue, he lost control of the vehicle, swerving across the multi-lane road, crashing into the curb and a fire hydrant, and fatally striking a 55-year-old woman believed to have been walking home from work. The driver sustained serious injuries and was transported to a nearby hospital, reported the Orange County Register.

“I would like to offer my condolences to the family of the woman,” said an Orange County accident lawyer after hearing the news. “They will be in my thoughts and prayers.”

Police are investigating whether the driver was under the influence of drugs and alcohol, the speed at which he was traveling, and the color of the traffic signal when he drove through it, all factors that will determine if misdemeanor or felony charges will be filed. If the driver was in fact impaired, explained the Orange County accident lawyer, then this accident will join the thousands of others that result in fatalities each year. In the United States, one person dies in a traffic accident involving an alcohol-impaired driver every 45 minutes. 48% of the car-verses-pedestrian accidents that resulted in 4,478 pedestrian fatalities in 2008 involved alcohol use.